."Dear Lord we ask you
to cover us with Your protection against all harm and evil and to bind every
spirit that may come against us. Into Your hands Dear Lord I commend my body,
mind, soul and spirit. St Michael the Archangel pray for
us"If
you think this website is of value then you might like to BOOKMARK
us below or perhaps send the link to a friend too?

The Rosary is
prayed on a set of beads consisting of a crucifix, two large beads and
three small beads in the single length and four large with ten small
between each on the circle. Praying the complete set of beads incorporates
the opening prayers on the straight stretch and then one Our Father, ten
Hail Marys and one Glory Be five times. These five are known as decades
and after each decade there is a prayer given to the children of Fatima by
Our Lady for the Holy Souls. In all we say 5 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Marys
and 5 Glory Be's. not including the 5 beads from the crucifix to the
circle of beads.

The prayers of the Rosary are
basically the same the world over in every language. In Lourdes, Fatima,
Garabandal or Medugorje people come from every nation on earth and it
makes no difference what language they speak because the format is the
same and each person responds to their half of the various prayers in
their own language.

Some people have little
additions in the prayers said after completion of the Rosary. These
additional prayers are voluntary and here in Ireland we call them the 'the
trimmings'. My Dad stayed with us until he died and he always requested
three Hail Mary's for the Holy Souls in Purgatory when we had the five
decades completed. His memory wasn't great towards the end and his 3 went
on to 10 or more, so lost was he in his praying. After about 13 we'd steer
him back on course again. He loved the Rosary and spent much of his day
reciting it.

It's lovely to dedicate each
decade to a specific intention so that you pray that decade for a
particular person, whether dead or alive, or for a particular group of
people - the family, young people, teachers, health care workers,
government, world leaders, priests; or for a particular intention close to
your own heart - a difficult situation, financial difficulties, personal
or work related difficulties, a family situation, personal, family or
friends' illnesses.

Non-catholics who might like
to pray the Rosary can omit some of the prayers if they wish and say the
basic Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to the Father. The main purpose
is to reflect on the Mysteries being said, with reverence and total focus
on the prayer.

The Rosary can be said alone
or in a group. When said in a group one person says the first half of the
prayers and the group says the second half. In our house we start with the
youngest in the house leading the first decade and the rest of us
responding and work our way through the next eldest etc. Where only two
are gathered, alternate the leader. The division for shared prayer is
shown in the table below - blue for the first half and maroon for the
second half. Here is how we say the Rosary in our house, we dedicate the
first five beads on the straight stretch as an Our Father, three Hail
Marys and a Glory Be To The Father for the Pope's
intentions:

Sign of
the Cross:

In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen

Glory be
to the Father, And to the Son, And the the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, Is now, And ever shall be.
World without end. Amen

Apostles' Creed:

I believe
in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead and on the third
day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right
hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come again to judge
the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

The Five Joyful MysteriesSaid on Mondays and
Saturdays:1st: The Annunciation; 2nd: The Visitation; 3rd: The Birth of Our
Lord; 4th: The Presentation; 5th: The Finding of the Child Jesus in the
Temple.

The
Five Mysteries of LightSaid on
Thursdays1st. The Baptism of Our Lord; 2nd. The First Miracle at Cana; 3rd.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God; 4th. The Transfiguration; 5th. The
Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper

The
Five Sorrowful MysteriesSaid on Tuesdays
and Fridays1st: The Agony in the Garden; 2nd: The Scourging at the Pillar;
3rd: The Crowning of Thorns; 4th: The Carrying of the Cross; 5th: The
Crucifixion

The
Five Glorious MysteriesSaid on Wednesdays
and Sundays1st: The Resurection; 2nd: The Ascension; 3rd: The Descent of The
Holy Spirit; 4th: The Assumption; 5th: The Crowning in
Heaven

Start with the Our Father on
the join of the circle and on each of the large beads for each decade.
Follow with ten Hail Marys and finish with a Glory Be.. Repeat this five
times.

The Lord's
Prayer:

Our
Father Who art in Heaven,Hallowed be
Thy Name;Thy Kingdom come,Thy
will be done on earth as it is in Heaven;Give us this day our daily bread;And
Forgive us our trespasses,As we forgive
those who trespass against us.And lead us
not into temptationBut deliver
us from evil. Amen

Hail Mary:

Hail
Mary full of Grace, The Lord is
with Thee,Blessed art Thou among
Women And Blessed
is the Fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.

Holy
Mary Mother of God,Pray for us
sinners, Now and at
the hour of our death. Amen

Glory Be:

Glory be to the Father,And to the
Son,And the the Holy
Spirit.

As
it was in the beginning,Is
now,And ever shall
be. World without end.
Amen

At the end of each decade we
say the following, the first one was taught to the children in Fatima by
Our Lady and requested for in between decades:

O my Jesus, forgive us our
sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially
those in most need of Your Mercy.Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of
Peace, Pray for us.Saint Michael the Archangel, Pray for us.

Hail
Holy Queen - on completion of the five decades recite the
following prayer:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of
mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor
banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and
weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, O most gracious Advocate,
thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin
Mary!

Pray for us O Holy Mother of
God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us
pray:

O God, Whose only begotten
Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards
of eternal salvation. Grant, we besech Thee, that meditating upon these
Mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may
imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise. Through Christ
Our Lord. Amen.

We close with:

May the Divine Assistance
remain always with us and may the souls of the faithful departed, through
the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

2. Jesus, Mary and
Joseph, I give You my heart and my soul;Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me
now and in my last agony,Jesus, Mary and Joseph may I
breath forth my soul in peace with You. Amen

3. O Holy Spirit,
beloved of my soul, I adore You.Enlighten me, guide me,
strengthen me, console me.Tell me what I should do, give me Your
orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and
to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your
will. Amen

4. Saint Michael the Archangel defend us in our hour of
need. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the
devil. May God restrain him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince
of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, cast Satan down to hell,
and with him all the wicked spirits who wander through the world for
the ruination of souls. Amen

5. God our Father I come
to say thank you for Your love today; Thank You for my family and
all the friends You give to me; Guard me in the dark of night; And
in the morning send Your light. Amen

6. God our Father, I
thank You for loving me;I am sorry for all my sins; For
not loving others and not loving You; Help me to live like Jesus and
not to sin again.
Amen

We have recently added in a
prayer for the whole world:

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the
Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth. Let the Holy Spirit
live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from
degeneration, disaster and war. May the Lady of All Nations, who once was
Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.”

We end with a little Prayer for the Holy Souls, especially those who
have no one to pray for them:

"May the Divine Assistance
remain always with them, and may the souls of the faithful departed,
through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen"

We close with the Sign of the Cross said in Irish, below is the
English version:

In ainm an Athar, agus a Mhic,
agus an Spioraid Naomh. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen

Moytura has several other sites with a
'Christian flavour'. Prayerful Thoughts
& Thoughtful Prayers is a little collection of prayers and
thought-provoking stories, and a few links to some other really nice websites.
Reflections for
Lent offers a daily meditation for the 40 days of lent and the week leading
into Easter. As part of my Journey section of
the website join me to learn a little of the Early Christian Church in Ireland
by visiting Clonmacnoise,
founded by St. Ciaran on the banks of the River Shannon in the 6th. Century.
Read about Saint Brendan the Navigator who started a Monastic settlement in the
tiny village of Clonfert in the
6th century, located on the Galway/Offaly/Tipperary border. Travel on my
journeys to two of Canada's most famous Catholic Shrines - Saint Anne de
Beaupré and Cap de la
Madeleine, both on the shores of the Saint Lawrence river in Quebec. Finally
I welcome you to come with me to see a little of Medugorje,
a peaceful haven in a war-torn country - Bosnia-Herzogovina. Please also pay a visit to Moytura's Irish
Bookshop where you can find books on the history of Christianity in
Ireland, Irish Prayers and
Celtic
Christianity

Below are
some of the other areas of Moytura's web site.
Mary Mullins, Cregmore, Claregalway, County Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353 91 798407